Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Washington, 569 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 330 of them (58%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 404 (71%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement: Western District of Washington
In brief: In the Western District of Washington, 569 people were sentenced for fraud, theft, and embezzlement offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 330 of them (58%) received a prison term, with a median of 18 months. Restitution was ordered for 404 (71%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 569 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Restitution Was Common, Fines Were Not
The Sentencing Commission's offense type "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" has 569 people in this district. Restitution, which is money paid back to victims, was ordered for 404 (71%). A fine was ordered for 128 (22%).
After prison, 298 people (52%) were placed on supervised release. The median supervised release term was 36 months.
How Many Went to Prison
330 people (58%) received a prison term. Another 222 (39%) were sentenced to probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 18 months. The longest-sentenced quarter received 36 months or more, and the shortest-sentenced quarter received 3 months or less. These are the terms imposed, not time served.
This District Against the National Totals
The national group for this offense type has 58,502 people, 73% of whom were sent to prison. Its median prison term was 20 months. This district sent a lower share to prison, and its median was a little lower.
Fraud, theft, and embezzlement made up 14% of the 3,992 people sentenced here. The median prison term for every offense type in the district together was 30 months.
Guilty Pleas and the Few Trials
There were 547 guilty pleas (96%), and 22 people were convicted after a trial. The national guilty plea rate for this offense type is also 96%. Nearly all of the pleas, 99%, came with a written plea agreement.
After a guilty plea the median prison term was 15.5 months. After a trial it was 60 months. That trial figure covers 19 people. Groups of cases differ in charge and history, so the gap does not measure the effect of choosing a trial.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of 562 people with this information, 236 (42%) were within the guideline range. 198 (35%) were below it at the government's request, and 124 (22%) were below it without that request. 4 (less than 1%) were above it.
Nationally, 45% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. The district figure for all offenses is 35%. A mandatory minimum applied to 75 of 542 people with that information recorded (14%).
Guidelines and Criminal History
The leading primary guideline was §2B1.1 (Larceny, Embezzlement, and Other Forms of Theft), with 426 people. §2B1.4 (Insider Trading) had 6 people, and §2B1.5 (Theft of, Damage to, or Destruction of, Cultural Heritage Resources) had 1.
71% of these people were in the lowest criminal history category and 5% were in the highest. Military records do not track criminal history in this way.
Year-to-Year Counts and What Is Missing
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 299 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 270. Yearly counts run from 38 to 89, and yearly medians from 6 to 27 months. The table lists each year, and the records give no reason for the differences.
Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are in this district, but their courts-martial are heard in military courts. The federal data leaves out anyone who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 89 | 15.5 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 65 | 15 months | 97% |
| 2018 | 65 | 14 months | 91% |
| 2019 | 80 | 27 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 38 | 6 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 53 | 12 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 41 | 22 months | 93% |
| 2023 | 48 | 21 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 52 | 15.5 months | 92% |
| 2025 | 38 | 18 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement" (569). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.